"Green Crassier (slag heap), Battle of Hill 70". Attached is an article on the Battle of Hill 70. The final attack in the Battle of Hill 70 involved the Green Crassier which was a huge pile of coal waste that overlooked the eastern part of Lens, as well as the Canadian lines to the west. It was an important strategic position, and its capture would have given the corps possession of the high ground around half of Lens. However, the attempt to take the Crassier by the 44th Battalion turned into a debacle, wasting dozens of Canadian lives. There are numerous reasons for this failure, one of which was the push from Major-General David Watson, commander of the 4th Division, to take the Crassier. As we shall see, the blame cannot fall solely on his shoulders, as Haig and Horne wanted the Canadians to take Lens all along and Currie certainly did not want to disappoint them. Undoubtedly their influence, although not direct, played a part in Canadian generals ordering the capture of the Crassier. At 2230 hours on 15 August, as the first day of fighting was winding down at Hill 70, HQ Canadian Corps issued an order outlining future objectives and instructing that plans be made for their capture. One of the objectives listed for the 4th Division was the Green Crassier. Even from this early stage in the battle, it is clear that Currie anticipated the imminent capture of Lens. Five days later, 4th Division HQ issued an order stating that if the attacks by the 46th, 47th, and 50th Battalions were successful on the 21st, the 44th Battalion would take the Green Crassier. According to this order, it would be up to the 10th Brigade’s commander, Brigadier General Hilliam, to decide if and when the attack would take place. The attacks on 21 August were a failure, and at this point, the officer in command of the 44th Battalion protested the plan. Lieutenant Colonel W.D. Davies argued that even if his troops gained the height of the Crassier, they would be cut off by the strong German garrison at Fosse St. Louis, a small rise with a cluster of buildings to the northwest of the waste pile. Hilliam overruled him. On 22 August, at 1500 hours Major-General Watson asked Corps HQ for permission to go ahead with the attack on the Crassier that night, saying that it was a menace to the Canadian line as long as it remained in German hands. Currie agreed, provided Watson was convinced that the plan was sound, the troops were familiar with the ground, and they had practiced the attack as much as possible. This was obviously an unrealistic expectation, as the battalion could not be pulled out of the line in the middle of a battle to go over a taped practice course. Nonetheless, at 1720 hours, Watson issued an order to the 44th Battalion to carry out their operation against the Crassier beginning at 0300 hours that night. Fosse St. Louis, with a small cluster of ruined buildings covering access to the Crassier, was supposed to have been cleared of enemy troops during a previous raid, but, only minutes before zero hour, the 44th Battalion realized that it was held by a strong German force. Therefore, the task of the two assault companies was split, with one carrying out the original plan to attack the Crassier, and the other directed to clear Fosse St. Louis. The first company mounted the Crassier rather easily in the darkness, but the other company faced stiff opposition including five machine guns. At the break of dawn, the Canadians exposed on top of the Crassier began to be swept by German machine gun fire. Since Fosse St. Louis was still in enemy hands, there was no way to get any additional men or supplies to the top of the waste pile, and soon small pockets of men became isolated in shell holes.72 One soldier, who was captured on the Crassier, wrote: The slack heap was sure an easy place to dig in – nothing but old coal slack and loose dirt, which was sure a give-away to us when daylight came; the fresh dirt thrown out showed up so black. Then we were up so high you dare not look out or they would shoot you in the head from any direction. The slack heap on the side next [to] the Germans dropped almost straight down. But they had a trench they could come up, so close to us they could throw their potato mashers at us. First whenever they came at us we put them away with our Mills bombs; but they were soon all gone. As the Canadians’ ammunition began to run out, the Germans slowly began pushing their way back across the Crassier. By late afternoon, the Germans had killed or captured every Canadian on the Crassier. Fosse St. Louis also remained in enemy hands. Photo from album which possibly belonged to Lt Reginald Vigars Prenter (RVP), 72nd Bn.